Key hits, two-out production leads Minford to 9-4 win over Wheelersburg

MINFORD — Teams who make special runs deep in postseason play find ways to make the necessary plays to win ballgames in clutch situations.

The Minford Falcons' baseball program showed exactly why they're the No. 2-ranked unit in the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association's (OHSBCA) Division V Poll Friday evening, as Minford scored seven of its nine runs with two outs against it, with timely pitching and hitting guiding the Falcons to a 9-4 triumph over the Wheelersburg Pirates' baseball program Friday evening in a SOC III contest that was held in Minford.

For Eli Daniels, the confidence in his club was high from the getgo.

"It was a great night out here," Daniels said. "We had a quick first inning where we had some hard-hit balls on some loud outs, and after that, I told the boys, 'This is going to be a good day.' It ended up being a good day."

As for Wheelersburg head coach Derek Moore, the seventh-year skipper conceded that Minford was the better team in its SOC III contest between the two squads.

"We fought back and that was good to see, but Minford deserves a lot of credit," Moore said. "Our guys worked counts and we were able to get Ty (Borland) out of the game early and had our chances late, but we just shot ourselves in the foot. All around, it just wasn't a great performance from a team perspective against a good team. Minford's ranked No. 2 in Division V for a reason, and they're playing good baseball. Little things here and there will cost you games, and that's what happened (on Friday)."

Minford got things rolling early on in the contest with its play in the second and third frames of action.

Colby Mullins, who has already produced significant returns as a three-sport athlete as a freshman, singled to right to begin the second inning. Mark Napier then followed by taking full advantage of a 2-1 pitch in the zone and driving the ball down the right field line, scoring Mullins all the way from first base while sliding in safely with an RBI triple to put the Falcons ahead by a 1-0 count.

Colt Donahoe then poked a single through the left side of the infield to score Mullins and push the Falcons' lead to a 2-0 margin after two innings of work.

With the lineup back at the top of the order once again, Minford came up big again with some late lightning. A double by starting pitcher and three-hole hitter Ty Borland to right center was followed by a walk from Frazie. Mullins then came up large again following a double steal by Borland and Frazie, driving both runners in with his two-RBI single to right field to plate a pair of Minford runs.

A big piece in the Falcons obtaining its 4-0 lead early on, Mullins ultimately went 2-for-4 in the game with his two RBI and a run scored accounting for three of Minford's first four runs to begin matters. Mullins also caught all 142 pitches thrown behind the plate on the day as well.

"Colby's a force to be reckoned with as a freshman," Daniels said. "The kid has a high baseball IQ, and he's our catcher behind the dish, so he's asked to do a lot of things back there and lead the field. Even at the plate, he came alive (on Friday), and hit a couple of backside singles with three or four RBI. He had a great day."

Wheelersburg, however, battled back in the middle innings.

In the fourth frame, the Pirates' Drew Holland reached on a leadoff single while Brady Doss walked to put ducks on the pond. RBI singles from Brady Music and Drake Bundy then followed, cutting the Minford lead in half to a 4-2 count.

Minford responded with more two-out production as a single to right by Curtis Glenn was followed by a big two-out RBI triple by Max Lauder that sailed over the head of Music in left — giving the Falcons a 5-2 lead — but Wheelersburg followed by putting further pressure on the Minford defense.

With one out in the fifth frame, Cameron Conn's walk and a fielder's choice that everybody ended up being safe on was followed by a two-out wild pitch, allowing Conn to score as Wheelersburg cut the lead back down to two, 5-3, after five innings.

Tensions in the game then hit a climax in the sixth.

Wheelersburg's Andrew Tabor began the sixth frame with a leadoff hit to right field, and after a strikeout by Lauder, who started the sixth in relief of Borland, Bundy shot a one-out double to left field over the head of Napier, putting runners on second and third base with one gone in the sixth.

Then, after a passed ball allowed Tabor to score, a walk put Wheelersburg in position to tie the score, or even take the lead, with runners on first and third and only one gone in the top of the sixth inning.

"We were aggressive, and that got us back in the game and got the energy going," Moore said. "That was good to see. That's one thing that we've shown this year a couple of times, and that is, when we've gotten down, we kind of stay down. It was good to see our guys fight back from a deficit and get it to a one-run ballgame. The way our guys felt in the dugout, we really felt that if we kept it at 5-4 going into the seventh inning, it would've really given us a good chance going into the top of the lineup."

But Minford had other plans.

Setting up for a suicide squeeze, Wheelersburg instead caught itself into a double play as a bunt, which was popped up in the air, was caught by Lauder just above the mound. Lauder then already turned and fired to his right to gun down a Wheelersburg courtesy runner at first base, getting a double play to end the threat entirely.

The effort was symbolic of how Borland and Lauder battled throughout the contest, as the duo allowed just five Wheelersburg hits between them while striking out nine batters as the two seniors again pitched competitively throughout.

"Ty had a good game (on Friday)," Daniels said. "He got a little high on the pitch count, but he battled all game and is a competitor in every sense. Then we have Max sitting behind him. He's a walking strike, so we felt confident throwing Max in there in those tough situations like that, and he showed why he can do it. He had a great relief outing."

Fueled by the inning-ending double play, Minford then made sure it didn't let up in the bottom of the sixth frame.

Following a hit batter, a single to right field by Donahoe and a perfectly placed bunt single down the first base line by Evan Richards that everyone ended up safe on, Mason Bradley added in a huge two-out, two-RBI single that beat the diving attempt of Conn at shortstop, sailing into the outfield as Napier and Donahoe scored. Borland then added in his own RBI single in a similar fashion following Bradley's base knock, while Carter Frazie added in an RBI single to right field to conclude the scoring.

"We put baserunners on all day," Daniels said. "I felt that we had great at-bats all throughout the game and just had a great day at the plate. The two-out hitting that Mason, Ty, and Carter put together in the sixth was just phenomenal. That's who they are, guys who have put in the work and believe in themselves to come up big in those situations."

"They were phenomenal with their two-out hitting," Moore said. "You're not going to lose many games if you're that good with hitting with two outs, so you've got to give them a lot of credit and Minford deserves a ton of credit. They put the game away. When you're up five runs going into the last inning, it doesn't matter who's up — you've got to feel pretty good about your chances."

With the win, Minford improved to a perfect 8-0 and 3-0 in the SOC III and again has full control of its destiny heading into the second week of conference play.

Daniels, however, knows that with contests at South Webster on Monday, at home against Valley on Wednesday, and at Waverly on Friday, the conference gauntlet is just beginning — and not a single team can be taken lightly.

"The gauntlet's just now started in the SOC," Daniels said. "I don't care who you're playing — every game is a tough game. We've got to come out with our best. If we don't, it's going to bite us really quick. Next week, we've got great opponents in South Webster, Valley and Waverly. It's going to be a tough week again, but we're excited for it and ready for it."

Wheelersburg (2-5, 1-2 SOC III) still has a chance to rebound itself — and has three home contests in its next four games with home bouts against West on Monday, Symmes Valley on Tuesday and South Webster on Friday in addition to a road matchup at Waverly on Wednesday.